Haidilao to slow growth as COVID-19 subdues consumer appetite
China’s biggest hot pot chain embarked on an expansion drive in early 2020 that resulted in an almost-1,600 store network.
Haidilao said it is slowing its rollout of new restaurants and increasing diversification in order to cope with a subsequent slump in consumer spending due to COVID-19.
“We will open stores based on market demand, and compared to before, will appropriately slow down our opening pace,” the company told Reuters.
China’s biggest hot pot chain embarked on an expansion drive in early 2020 that resulted in an almost-1,600 store network by acquiring sites left behind by vacating tenants.
But that expansion reportedly pushed Haidilao’s table turnover rate down to 3.0, or three sets of customers per day on average, - in the first half of this year, from 2019’s 4.8.
